Latch attachment for valveoperated spray nozzles



M. GANZ Oct. 27, 1953 LATCH ATTACHMENT FOR VALVE-OPERATED SPRAY NOZZLES Filed May 19, 1948 villllilldlll IIII z fm m M INVENTOR.

Patented Oct. 27, 1953 LATCH ATTACHMENT FOR VALVE- OPERATED SPRAY NOZZLES- Milton Ganz, St. George, N. Y. Application May 19, 194s, serial No. 27,933

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to an attachment for valve-operated spray nozzles, adaptable to hold the valve-operating lever or button in open-valve position, whenever desired.

It is customary design inspray nozzles used particularly in dental, medical and surgical apparatus, that the nozzle tube proper, extend from a substantially spherical form, which either carries or is adjacent to a lever or button used to control the nozzle valve. These valves are manually operated, and continue open until finger holdis released from the valve operating lever or button, which are spring loaded.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved attachment of the character mentioned, which is easily detachably mountable on such ball-form portion of the spray nozzle or gun structure, and is shiftable thereon in ball-joint manner'to 'a position away from the valve-operating element when the spray means is at rest or under manual control, and to another position where said attachment will maintain said element in position to hold the valve in open condition.

Another object hereof is to provide a single one-piece article which is interchangeable for use with either lever or button-operated type valves, which is simple and cheap to manufacture, easy to use and eflicient in carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a valve attachment embodying the teachings of this invention.

Fig. 2 shows said attachment mounted on a valved spray nozzle; the valve of this set-up being of the type operated by a spring loaded lever. Said attachment is shown in position when not in use. This View is a fragmentary sectional view of the assembly.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the attachment in use to maintain the valve in open condition.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the valve attachment with respect to Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 shows said attachment on a valved spray nozzle, whose valve means is of the type operated by a spring loaded button; the valve in this View being in closed position.

Fig. 6 is a side View similar to Fig. 5, showing the attachment in use to maintain the valve in open condition.

In the drawings, the numeral I5 designates generally a nozzle device affording spray control by means of a valve operated either by shifting the pivoted lever I6, or else upon pushing the button I 1. In the embodiments illustrated, each of the structures includes a substantially spherical form I8, which either carries the valve control member or else is adjacent to it.

The article shown in Fig, 1, and designated generally by the numeral I9, is a `quickly mountable and removable attachment to be mounted on the ball form I8 of these spray nozzle devices, and can be used on either of the types shown, to hold the valve in open condition, wherever desired. It need not be removed, for it is shiftable on such ball form so that the valve-operating member may assume a position to close the valve, or be wholly manually operable without calling upon said member I9, to perform the function it is designed for.

This attachment I9 may be formed of a onepiece blank of sheet metal which has some resiliency, bent and formed to include a pair of spaced oppositely-cupped palm-like members joined at one end by an intermediate element 2I, from which extends a tab 22 which edges are free of the said palm-like members designated by the numerals 20. Said palm-like parts 20, are adapted to tightly hug said ball form I8, and are cupped to conform to its contour and are of such dimension that they hold between them a diametral section or zone of the ball surface plus much more of said ball surface to one side of said zone than the other; the lesser being indicated at 0. This facilitates mounting and demounting of the valve attachment I9 onto the ball form I8, because only a small amount of spreading apart of the ball-gripping arms 20 is required to mount or remove said item I9. Thus said attachment I9 can be snapped on and off the ball form I8 and not fall ofl', and engage same with good frictional t, and be swivelled on same.

If desired, part 2| may have a second integral tab indicated as at 2|. Either of the tabs 2l and 22, though stiff, is adapted to be bent to respectively engage the valve operating member when shifted by moving the attachment I9, to position to hold the valve in open condition. The attachment I9 needs two different stops as 2I' and 22, only because in most valves on the market today, distances marked A and B are unequal. A is the distance between the center of the ball-shaped member I8 and that surface of the valve-operating member I6, which isengaged by the attachment I9 to hold the valve in open condition as shown in Fig. 3. B is the distance between the center of the ballshaped member I8 and that surface of the valveoperating member I'I, which is engaged by the attachment I9 to hold the valve in open condition as shown in Fig. 6. If the attachment is to be used for only one type of valve, then only one stop element would be necessary, or when said distances A and B are equal, only one stop would be suiiicient. Standard dental and surgical equipment have a ball form as IB of substantially uniform diameter, and denite distances A and B. Hence applicant makes a single attachment as I9, adaptable for both types of spray valves.

It is also to be noted than in usual spray structures, the ball form I8 is intermediate a pair of reduced necks 24 and 25. Therefore when the attachment is to be mounted as in Fig. 2, or detached from the position shown in Fig. 2, said valve attachment I9 is slid on neck 224. When the attachment I9 is to be mounted as in Fig. 5, or detached from the position shown in Fig. 5, said article I9 is slid on neck 25.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. 1t is therefore intended and desired that the embodiments shown herein be deemed illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specific description herein to indicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A unitary attachment for a valve casing adapted for use with a spray nozzle, said casing including an external ball-shaped form and a spring-loaded valve for controlling the fluid ow therethrough, a valve actuating member operatively connected to said valve and mounted for Valve-opening movement toward the ball form, said attachment comprising a pairpf parallel resilient arms connected at one of their ends by a spacer-stop element xed thereto, said arms being formed at their other ends to hold said ball form between them and mounted on opposite sides of said ball form in frictional engagement therewith for swivel movement of said attachment on said ball form, the spacer element being spaced from said ball form and in one position of the attachment said spacer element is out of the path of movement of the valve actuating member into valve-open and valveclosed positions and in a second position of the attachment said spacer element is in the path of the valve actuating member movement and adapted to engage and hold Said member when the latter is in valve-open position.

2. An attachment device as dened in claim 1, wherein the stop element comprises a tab adapted to be manually bent to extend at different distances from the center of the ball form.

3. An attachment device as dened in claim 1, formed of a single blank of sheet material.

MILTON GANZ.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 565,211 Knight Aug. 4, 1896 923,751 VonAch June 1, 1909 995,016 Julius June 13, 1911 1,068,961 Baker July 29, 1913 1,229,956 Henderson June 12, 1917 2,512,380 Quartullo June 20, 1950 2,523,943 Choppa Sept. 26, 1950 

